


Extra Cargo

by peternurphy



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Fluffy, Hurt/Comfort, Idk it's v on the cute side oops, firefly vibes?, physical affection, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29269581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peternurphy/pseuds/peternurphy
Summary: While trying to escape a mob that wants her dead, Vero finds herself growing close with the captain of a cargo ship.
Relationships: Female Cargo Ship Pilot & Cranky Stowaway
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	Extra Cargo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rosabelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosabelle/gifts).



> This is for rosabelle for Chocolate Box 2021! I hope it's okay - I had fun writing it, though it's far from what I usually write!

As she was dragged through the halls, Vero dug her boots into the steel floors., but Thomas was too strong. Thomas – the security officer, short and stocky with haphazardly clipped black hair that merged into an equally choppy beard. He didn't know her, but Vero had observed enough of the crew over the past week to learn the names and jobs of everyone aboard.

Thomas said nothing to her. Even as Vero twisted and tried to slip from his grasp, he kept his hand on her arm. His fingers dug into the muscle like they were made of iron, and Vero had a feeling she was going to be left with bruises.

That is, if she survived.

Thomas stopped at a doorway and used his free hand to slide open the door. It took a few seconds; when he finally got the door to move it made a scraping noise against the frame. Vero cringed.

"I think I've figured out our rat problem," said Thomas. He pulled Vero in and finally let go of her. She glanced around the room to find the closest exit. Then she remembered they were on a spaceship – she didn't exactly have a place to escape to. So she stood with her arms crossed over her chest, looking for who could be the most sympathetic in the room.

Chiemeka wouldn't. The navigator had been the one to point out the missing supplies, and the first to suggest a stakeout. She remembered him suggesting that they might not have enough food to make it to the next destination – would he try and throw her into space to save the rest of the crew?

Miriam was also doubtful. She rarely spoke, spending all her time working on the systems of the ship. Vero didn't expect an opinion from her one way or the other. The only times Vero had heard Miriam speak were to talk about a problem with the ship, or to answer a question.

Nkiru, perhaps? Surely, somebody with medic training had to be more compassionate. But Vero knew Nkiru was responsible for both the shipment and the welfare of the crew. Still, she fixed her eyes on Nkiru – trying to look small, trying to emphasize that she was harmless.

"Our first stowaway," said Nkiru. She stood, and Thomas moved to the side. She took Vero's jaw in her hand. "You look old enough to work, at least. What brought you to our ship?"

Vero shrugged. It was true, she was old enough to work. She was also old enough to get involved in the Solar mob, old enough to take out a rival group's second-in-command, and old enough for her boss to decide her protection would cost too much. "Needed to leave the system," she said.

Chiemeka opened his mouth to say something, but Nkiru held up her hand. "We all know what that means," she said coolly. "We don't have to rub it in." Vero exhaled in relief.

"We still need to decide what to do with her. We have at least a month to travel."

"Then I will speak with her in private."

* * *

The captain's quarters were larger than Vero had expected, but not by much. The bed was tucked up above a desk with an old computer interface and an even older lamp. Nkiru sat in an office chair that looked like it could fall apart at any moment. "Sit," she said, and gestured to a folding chair with a few holes burned through the back and seat. Vero did.

"I need you to be completely honest," said Nkiru. "We're within our rights to throw you off the ship, but I don't want to do that. If you want to stay aboard, I need to know exactly what kind of liabilities you might bring to us. Do you understand?"

"Yes captain," said Vero, and Nkiru laughed.

"I see you've been listening in on us," she said. "So you know that we're transporting goods to Sirius. I assume you want to be left there?"

"That was my plan."

Nkiru nodded. "That might be doable. Your rations will be small, and we can try to put you to work." She opened the computer interface. "Full name and city?"

On the interface, there was a database. Vero recognized it and lowered her head. "Do I really have to?" She asked. Nkiru looked at her – her dark eyes pierced into Vero and her frown made it obvious that Vero did, in fact, have to answer. "Veronica Gunnarsen. Venus C7." Nkiru typed, then sucked on her teeth.

"Venus? No wonder you left," she murmured. Then a profile appeared on the interface and Nkiru frowned again. "Well, I thought might be involved in something shady. Papillon, though..."

"Papillon isn't after me. They let me go. It's Crater that wants me."

"Crater?" Asked Nkiru.

Vero couldn't help but smile. "Exactly. They're around Sol, but that's it. Sirius is far enough away that they can't do much about me."

This didn't seem to make Nkiru happy. "But they still could be after you."

"Maybe in the Solar system. They wouldn't chase a tiny cargo ship." Vero paused. "No offense."

"You can stay. But if they come for you, we give you up."

* * *

After a week, nobody had come for Vero. She had been given basic work to do – cleaning the ship, simple repairs, washing dishes. She ate mostly emergency rations, though occasionally she would get extra food that otherwise might have gone to waste.

But Nkiru was the only one who would speak to her. Chiemeka glared at Vero whenever they saw each other; if it was the three of them he would complain to Nkiru in a language Vero didn't understand. Thomas was similar, though he never said anything negative, either. At least Miriam was always silent, Vero would remind herself.

So she spent more and more time with Nkiru. When neither had work, they would spend time in Nkiru's quarters – Vero avoided the common areas, and didn't have quarters to herself. Nkiru would teach Vero about the ship, trying to give Vero some skills she could use to find legitimate work.

Other times, they would simply talk. Vero was reluctant to talk about her past, but Nkiru was open. She was from Lagos, and had purchased the ship with Chiemeka. Miriam was technically an employee, though Nkiru had plans to bring her on as a partial owner. Thomas was the only truly temporary member of the crew, though his contract had at least one more year left.

At one point, when Nkiru was lying up in her bed and Vero was stretched out between the two chairs, Vero found herself wistful. "I'd take a contract here if I could get one," she said. Nkiru sat up and looked down on her.

"Na so?"

"It's better than mob work. Besides, what's there for me at Sirius? I'm going because I don't have any connections, but it's not like I can get education or anything."

Nkiru moved towards the edge of the bed and sat with her feet on the ladder. "I can look into it," she said. "No promises."

Vero jumped to her feet. She rushed to Nkiru, nearly tripping over the wheels of the desk chair, and grabbed her hands. "You mean that?" She asked.

"I'll look into it!" Said Nkiru, but she was smiling. She squeezed Vero's hands, and for a moment Vero stood in front of her, staring into Nkiru's face and feeling her own face flush. "I'd like to have you," she said.

With her hands still in Nkiru's, Vero moved forward. "On the ship?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"I don't know."

She felt Nkiru pull her slightly, and Vero stepped up onto the ladder so they could face each other at the same level. Nkiru freed her hands from Vero's to hold onto Vero's waist. "You're bony," she murmured. "I'm sorry we don't feed you more. Once we get more chop," she said. "Or I could have a transport come meet us..."

"You don't have to do that. It's only a few more weeks."

"You're not hungry now?"

Vero shook her head. "I'm perfectly happy where I am," she said, and she reached up to put her hands on Nkiru's shoulders. They moved closer, their faces just barely touching and Nkiru's eyes filling all of Vero's vision-

Then the room shook, and Vero fell to the floor. She felt a crunch beneath her and screamed. Nkiru leapt down from the bed and knelt next to her, swearing, before her voice was covered by the screaming of an alarm. Vero's head pounded, and she felt something wet in her hair.

The door swung open. Chiemeka was yelling something – again, something Vero couldn't understand, and that seemed to make Nkiru angry. The room was spinning around her, the sounds blending into each other, Vero's shoulder and ankle and head aching. Then she heard Thomas – and something about guns, and a pirate vessel, and-

"Take me to weapons," said Vero.

"You're too hurt!"

"I'll be fine-"

She pulled herself up by Nkiru's open shirt, leaving a red stain on the collar. "I can help," she said, and Nkiru pulled her into her arms.

"Fine," said Nkiru. "I'm not letting you walk." She stood, with Vero clinging to her neck with the arm that hurt less and her head against Nkiru's shoulder.

As Nkiru ran, Vero's head pounded more. Each footstep echoed in her skull and somehow made its way down to Vero's stomach, sloshing with its meager contents and making her want to heave. She grabbed her thumb and closed her eyes. Maybe, she thought, if she imagined she was on a boat – a small sailboat in the wind, the sun shining down on her and Nkiru rocking her in time with the waves...

"There!"

Vero was still in her fantasy, until Thomas grabbed her – at the same part of her arm that he had first grabbed, the still-present bruises pulling her back to the space ship. The portholes of the ship revealed a small ship moving quickly around their own vessel. It wasn't Crater – but a contractor, one that Vero herself had used before. And one she had taken out before. "Give me the guns," Vero said.

"How is she supposed to gun it down?" Asked Thomas, but Nkiru ignored him. She knelt before the controls and let Vero reach for them. She could just barely reach with her left arm, but she aimed slowly and with certainty.

"There's a flaw in the shields," said Vero. She hit fire -

And the ship shook again, and she felt herself and Nkiru fly across the room and slam into the back wall, and as Vero fell to the floor and lost the last of her consciousness, she saw the mercenary ship spiraling away into space.

* * *

"I think Thomas wants to throw you off now."

The infirmary of the ship was small and cramped. As Vero opened her eyes, she had to adjust them – the only light came from small lamps and flashlights scattered around; the dark metal of the walls and floors did little to make it better. Nkiru was sitting at the foot of Vero's bed, holding her hands in a small white box. "See, he's jealous. He wouldn't have been able to hit that, and we all know it."

"It's a rare ship," said Vero.

"I didn't know you knew much about that."

Vero tried to sit up, but Nkiru took her hand from the box and pushed her back down. "You're injured. You have to rest." Vero groaned.

"I told you, I was with Papillon."

"You never told me what you did."

Vero closed her eyes. It wasn't that bad – but wasn't it better for them to know as little as possible? She shook her head. "Does it really matter?"

She heard Nkiru move in the room. There was the sound of something being put in a cabinet, and Nkiru walking around the bed. It was a moment before she felt Nkiru sitting back down, and this time, she was right against Vero. Her hand rested gently on Vero's chest. "You don't have to tell me. But if you do, it's just me. Not the rest of the crew."

"I was just a guard," Vero explained.

"Then why were you so afraid?"

Vero opened her eyes again. Nkiru was smiling down at her as she rubbed small circles into Vero's side. "Hell if I know," she answered.

Nkiru pulled a chair to rest her feet on. "I thought you were gonna say you.... I dunno, kidnapped kids or something. It's not like you're the only one who's had to shoot down a few pirates."

"Maybe I wanted to impress you," said Vero.

"I could say the same."

They looked at each other – Vero's eyes wide, Nkiru's smile twitching until she bent in on herself, giggling. "I- I'm sorry," she said. "I mean, it's really how this happens – I get a ship and fall for the first stowaway to show up. God, I'm soft – first I want to adopt Miriam, now this. I'm gonna cry if Thomas leaves."

"Well, I won't leave," said Vero. "Not if you don't want me to."

And though she saw Nkiru's lips move, she didn't have to answer for Vero to know she wanted her to stay.


End file.
